Australian Actor Josh Heuston to Lead Amazon MGM’s ‘Throttled’ Adaptation

Australian actor Josh Heuston has landed his next major international role, signing on to lead Amazon MGM Studios’ feature adaptation of Lauren Asher’s bestselling romance novel Throttled.

The Western Sydney-raised actor will play rising racing driver Noah Slade in the adaptation of the first novel in Asher’s popular Dirty Air series.

Set against the high-stakes world of professional motor racing, Throttled follows Maya Alatorre, who joins her brother on the racing circuit only to find herself falling for his fiercely competitive teammate and rival, Noah.

Casting for Maya has yet to be announced.

Nzingha Stewart, whose directing credits include Daisy Jones & The Six, will helm the film from a screenplay by My Fault: London writer Melissa Osborne.

Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman will produce through Brownstone Productions alongside Garrett Grant, Jennifer Gibgot and Andrew Panay of Ethea Entertainment. Asher will serve as an executive producer alongside Alison Small.

The role continues a rapid international rise for 29-year-old Heuston.

After initially working as a model while studying biomolecular science, the Australian actor broke through as Dusty Reid in Netflix’s reboot of Heartbreak High.

He subsequently joined HBO’s Dune: Prophecy as Constantine Corrino before landing a role in Prime Video’s adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s hugely popular Off Campus novels.

Heuston played musician Justin Kohl in the first season of the college romance series, which debuted earlier this year, but will not return for its second season.

Throttled now gives the actor another major book-to-screen adaptation — this time putting him firmly in the driver’s seat as the male lead.

The casting arrives amid an increasingly prominent year for Heuston in Australia and abroad. Last week, he was named the inaugural Man of the Year at ELLE Australia’s Next Gen Awards, recognising emerging Australian talent across entertainment and culture.

Asher published Throttled in 2020 as the first instalment in her four-book Dirty Air series. It was followed by Collided, Wrecked and Redeemed, with each interconnected romance centred on characters within the world of professional racing.

The author said she was excited to see the characters make the leap from page to screen following the announcement of Heuston’s casting.

The project also arrives as romance novels continue to prove fertile territory for streaming services and studios, with Heuston himself now moving directly from one high-profile adaptation in Off Campus to another.

No release date or additional casting for Throttled has yet been announced.

For Heuston, however, the role represents another significant step for an Australian actor whose career has moved rapidly from Western Sydney to some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises — and now to his first major studio leading role.